Counting machine



Feb. 28, 1956 R. P. cALoU 2,736,496

COUNTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1953 FII-5 5 INVENToR. @AH/MONO P. CALO# BY arf/off 6L /c/r, Affys.

United States Patent O COUN'IING MACHINE Raymond P. Calou, Oakland, Calif. Application September 14, 1953, Serial No. 379,768 3 Claims. (Cl. 23S-98) This invention relates to a novel counting machine which is particularly adapted for use in counting pieces of soiled linen.

Many commercial laundries make a practice of conducting a towel and napkin rental service wherein the laundry agrees to supply various business firms with their requirements of napkins and towels. When such towels and napkins are returned, they must be counted to make sure of the number of pieces to be charged for. Heretofore, it has been the practice to tirst sort the soiled linen into a series of piles, each of which contains only a single type of article and then count each pile.

The machine of the present 'invention is adapted to count soiled linen and, further, in the case of a multiple lane machine, it also serves as a sorting table. In other words, by having as many lanes on the machine as there are types of articles to be counted, an operator with a single motion can sort, as well as count, the articles.

I am aware that others have proposed machines in the past for counting laundry, but such machines have proved to be unsuccessful because of their inability to count very small or light articles. For instance, in some of the machines the articles are passed along a belt and upon striking a gate or trigger mechanism, the piece is counted. This works well with relatively heavy pieces of new material, but for very light materials, such as well worn napkins, such machines frequently miscount. The counting machine of the present invention is very sensitive and will count extremely light articles. In fact, the machine will count ordinary facial tissues.

Another objection to counting machines in the past has been that vibration or bouncing of the trigger mechanism frequently rendered a false count.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a machine for counting linen which is very sensitive and which will count pieces of extreme light weight.

Another object of this invention is to provide an accurate machine for counting linen which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and fool-proof in its operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a laundry counting machine having a number of lanes whereby the counting machine serves as a sorting device as well as a counting device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine wherein the counting is extremely accurate.

Another object is to provide a machine having a visual indicating means whereby an operator is warned if the machine is not operating properly.

In general, I accomplish the objects of this invention by providing a machine having a number of belts adapted to carry pieces of linen, With a rotating device over the belts to press the article to be counted into contact with the belts, and a series of triggers suspended over and depending between the belts, wherein the triggers have an independent action, as is hereinafter explained in detail.

In the drawings forming a part of this application:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of my device wherein two separate counting lanes are provided.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the counting lanes of Figure 1 illustrating the arrangements of the triggers and hold-down devices.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the triggers which is used for counting. (Note: In Figure 3, the trigger is inverted from its normal position.)

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a belt supporting device showing the belt guides.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5 5 of Figure 2 showing the relative arrangement of the belt supporting device of Figure 4, the belt itself, a trigger arm, and a roller.

Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, there is shown a laundry counting machine having a frame, generally designated 6, supported by legs S. Attached to the frame 6 is a prime mover 10, which is preferably a gear reduction motor. A belt 12 drives the front roller 14, as is shown. At the end of the machine, opposite the driven roller 14, is an idler roller 16 and supported between the rollers 14 and 16 are a series of belts 18. In the embodiment illustrated, the machine is divided into two counting lanes by a center partition 20 and each lane has tive belts 18. However, it will be understood that any number of lanes can be employed and various numbers of belts can be employed on each lane. The belts 18 are supported near their centers by the belt plate 22. The belt plate 22 has a series of belt guiding projections 24 thereon, one projection being provided at each side of each belt. The purpose of the guides is to keep each belt in its assigned path and, in addition, plate 22 has the function of supporting the belt and making the trigger mechanism action more positive.

Located above each belt is a hold-down roller 26. The rollers 26 are supported by arms 32 which are free to rotate independently on the shaft 28. Thus, each roller may move up and down to follow the movement of one belt, or to raise and allow an article to pass between the belt and the roller without causing any movement of another roller. The shaft 2S is held by means of the support members 30. It will be noted that one set of rollers has been removed for clarity of illustration in Figure 2. The rollers 26 are supported by the arms 32 at about an angle of 45 and are free to move up and down and thus maintain pressure on the belts at all times.

Between each set of belts is a trigger. The trigger mechanism consists of a frame 34 on which is mounted a rotatable shaft 36 to which is attached a cam 38 which actuates a microswitch 40. Each of the triggers 42 has a limited movement with respect to the shaft 36, as is shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, the trigger is shown in an inverted position from the position it would normally occupy in the device to better bring out the interior construction of the device. The trigger 42 has an angular abutment 44 on the end thereof, and the clamp 48 has a slot 46 therein which is spaced somewhat from the abutment 44 so that part 42 can pivot and move through a limited arc in relation to part 48. In use, the trigger 42 is installed in such a manner that the abutment 44 is almost in Contact with the end of slot 46. Thus, as the trigger is raised, i. e., moved to the left in Figure 3, or moved upward in Figure 2, the abutment 44 almost immediately comes into contact with the edge of slot 46, causing part 48 and thus shaft 36 to rotate. On the other hand, should shaft 36 be rotated by another trigger, the abutment 44 will be moved away from the slot 46, resulting in no movement of the clamp 4S or the shaft 36. Shaft 36 is biased by a spring 37 which presses the trigger into contact with plate 22. From Figure 5, it can be seen that the roller contacts an article on the belt, just before the article comes into contact with the trigger.

A light is provided to give visual proof that the machine is working. Each time an article is counted, the light flashes on briefly. If the light does not flash while the machine is counting, or if the light stays on, the operator is warned that the machine is not operating properly. The light may be mounted on the top of the machine, as at 51, or on the indicating mechanism, as at 52, or at both locations.

Each time the shaft 36 is turned through a slight angle because of an object striking the trigger 42, the cam 3S actuates the micro-switch 4i). The micro-switch 40 is connected, by suitable wiring, to the counting mechanism S0 and also to a light as at 51 or 52. Thus, each time an object on the belt comes in contact with a trigger, a light ashes and the counting mechanism 5G is actuated.

As is explained above, the triggers have an independent action due to the lost motion connection between each trigger and its shaft. It has been found that with a rigid connection between the shaft and the trigger, there is a tendency of the whole trigger assembly to bounce after a count, which can result in a false count. Therefore, it is preferred to use the lost motion connection shown, although a device with a rigid connection between the triggers and shaft is useful for some purposes.

I claim: t

1. A machine for counting articles of the class described comprising in combination a plurality of endless belts lying parallel and close to each other, means for driving said belts in the same direction, rotating means mounted over each of said belts and normally in contact with said belt, and a trigger mechanism independent of said rotating means consisting of a series of triggers, each of said triggers being supported by a common shaft located above the belts, said triggers depending to a position between adjacent belts substantially at the point of contact between the `belt and the rotating means, and means actuated by the shaft for operating a counter.

2. A machine for counting articles of the class de- 'scribedA comprising in'combination a plurality of endless belts lying parallel and close to each other, means for driving said belts in the same direction, rotating means mounted over each of said belts and normally in contact with said belt, and a trigger mechanism independent of said rotating means consisting of a series of triggers, each of said triggers being supported by a common shaft located above the belts, said triggers depending to a position between adjacent belts substantially at the point of contact between the belt and the rotating means, and a 1ost,motion connection between said triggers and said shaft whereby one of said triggers can be raised without actuating the other triggers on said shaft, and means actuated by the shaft for operating a counter.

3. A machine for counting articles of the class described comprising in combination a plurality of endless belts lying parallel and close to each other, means for driving said belts in the same direction, rotating means mounted over each of said belts and normally in contact with said belt, and a trigger mechanism independent of said rotating means consisting of a series of triggers, each of said triggers being supported by a common shaft located above the belts, said triggers depending to a position between adjacent belts substantially at the point of contact between the belt and the rotating means, and a lost motion connection between said triggers and said shaft whereby one of said triggers can be raised without actuating the other triggers on said shaft, means actuated by the shaft for operating a counter, and means also actuated by said shaft for flashing a light.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,261,968 Storer Apr. 9,1918 1,690,756 Stebler Nov. 6, 1928 2,486,118 Clark Oct. 25, 1949 2,645,424 Wright July 14, 1953 

